A Beautiful Flirtation
by Malvolia
Summary: When Bobby breaks up with her, Rogue determines never to have anything to do with romantic relationships again. Then a smooth-talking new recruit named Gambit arrives... Set after X2. Complete.
1. New Start

"I don't think this is working."

The corner of her mouth twitched. _That_ was an understatement.

"I mean, I like you. I like you a lot. It's just…."

"Yeah," she said. "Yeah, I know what it's just."

"It's not you, Rogue," he said.

The twitch became a full-fledged incredulous grin. "It's not?" She held up a hand as he opened his mouth to speak again. "No," she said. "Don't bother, Bobby. I understand."

"I feel awful about this."

"And I'd feel a lot better if you'd shut up about it," she said. "At our age, nobody expects these things to last forever. We might've broken up by now even if things had been…different."

"Still friends?" he asked hopefully, holding out a hand.

"Yeah," she said. She took his hand and shook it once, holding it tightly. "Yeah."

_This can't be happening__**…**__._

* * *

_I will _not_ cry over a boy_, Rogue told herself for the hundredth time as Bobby left the lunch table.

Kitty was watching her. "Are things okay with you two?" she asked. "You seem a little…." Jubilee jabbed her with her elbow. "Hey!" Kitty yelped. "It was just a question!"

"Do I ask you about Peter?" Jubilee asked.

Kitty flushed crimson and threw a glance over her shoulder. "Ssshh…. He might hear you."

Jubilee raised an eyebrow and nodded.

In the choice between laughter and tears, laughter won out. Rogue laughed almost in spite of herself. "We broke up," she said, and shrugged. "It happens. But that doesn't mean we can't ever talk to each other again, does it?"

"Of course not," said Jubilee. Kitty shook her head furiously. She was still casting nervous glances around the dining hall, as if Peter were going to appear out of nowhere like she did. Rogue wondered, not for the first time, what it would be like to have powers like that.

Not for the first time, she realized that all it took to find out was a touch.

And there were the tears again, ready and waiting for her. She made her excuses and left in a hurry. She was going to let herself cry over a boy.

She just wasn't going to do it in public.

* * *

Ororo Munroe lifted the fabric, surprised at how light it was. As it shifted in her hands, the light revealed new colors in the scarf. She smiled approvingly at the shopkeeper. "I'll take it," she said, reaching inside her purse. The smile became a frown as she groped deeper, unable to find her wallet.

"The sneaky little hellion," she muttered, remembering too late Professor Xavier's warning not to let her guard down for an instant. She whirled around and caught a fleeting glimpse of a running figure. Without looking back at the undoubtedly disappointed shopkeeper, she sprinted after it.

The thief was fast. Ororo followed him through the twisted streets and alleyways, always just far enough behind him. She was on the verge of summoning the wind to carry her up to him when the man abruptly reversed course and charged back towards her. Caught off guard, she stepped back, allowing him enough space to pass by her. And as he passed, he grabbed her wrist, dragging her around the corner and into a darkened doorway.

"Wha—"

He stopped her with a quick gesture for silence and a nod toward the alley. Ororo waited, catching her breath, unable to take her eyes off this stranger she had come all the way to Cairo to find. He stared back, grinning, unapologetic. Reaching a hand into his coat pocket, he pulled out a few playing cards.

At the sound of voices in the alley, he tensed for a brief instant before leaping out of the doorway. Ororo followed, watching him toss the playing cards through the air towards two men holding guns. The glowing cards exploded on impact, knocking the guns from the hands of the assailants. The two took a few running steps toward the man with the playing cards, but they weren't fast enough. The next cards knocked them both unconscious.

The man Ororo had been tailing looked up at her and shrugged. "Sorry," he said nonchalantly. "Friends of mine." He ran a hand through his hair and gave her an appraising look. "Guess after putting you through that, you've earned this," he said, and tossed her wallet to her.

"I'd say so," she retorted, "since it was mine to begin with."

He winked at her and turned to leave.

"Aren't you tired of running, Mr. LeBeau?"

The man froze. He reached into his pocket. "I don't seem to remember the introductions," he said.

But Ororo was ready. When the card flipped in her direction, a blast of wind swept it up above their heads, detonating it. "The name is Storm," she said.

For an instant, his preternaturally red eyes registered disbelief. But only for an instant. "Gambit," came the response. "None of that 'Mr. LeBeau' for me."

"Well, Gambit," said Ororo, "it looks like you could use some help. A safe place. A better life."

"And who are you, my fairy godmother?"

"Nothing that fantastic," smiled Ororo. "I represent a school…."

* * *

"Best thing to happen to me this year," said Rogue firmly.

"Be serious, Rogue," said Kitty.

Rogue sighed. "I'm _being_ serious. It was hard at first, yeah. But then I realized I wasn't ready to be in that sort of a relationship yet. I'm still figuring _me_ out, gals. This 'gift,' or curse, or whatever it is…it's still too new for me. And I sure as anything don't need to start worrying about how someoneelse is dealing with it, you know?"

"He still likes you," said Kitty softly. "A lot."

Rogue rolled onto her back and stared at the bedroom ceiling. She remembered kissing Bobby. She remembered how he panicked when she began to drain his life force, how quickly he had turned away. Not that she could blame him for that; she'd been scared, too. But she also remembered the thought—his thought—that flashed across her mind in that instant. _This is never going to work._

He was right, of course. How could she expect any man to love her enough to overlook the "no touching" rule? It drove her crazy enough as it was; there was no need to drag someone else into it. She'd handle it alone.

"Rogue?" Kitty whispered. "Are you still awake?"

"Yeah," said Rogue. Her friend was probably still expecting a response to her statement. "Yeah," she repeated. "I know he does."

"Hey, leave her alone, Kitty," said Jubilee, tossing a pillow at the younger girl. "It's not like you're the romantic expert in this room."

Rogue suppressed a grin. The whole school knew about Kitty's obsession with Peter Rasputin. The whole school, including the unfortunately unrequiting Peter himself. Kitty was constantly being teased about it.

"Ah, leave her alone, Jubilee," Rogue said, taking pity on her friend. No wonder Kitty couldn't get over Peter. If everyone pestered Rogue about Bobby, she'd have had a hard time getting over him, too.

She was. Over him, that is. She was over and done with all men. _From today on_, Rogue swore to herself, _I'm alone. And I'm gonna start liking it._


	2. New Boy

"Welcome to our school, Mr. LeBeau."

_This is a bad idea. _"Gambit, if you don't mind," said "Mr. LeBeau." The deck of cards he held in one hand flashed with occasional bursts of energy that were then held in check. "Gambit or Remy. 'Mister' is considerably too formal for me."

"Well, Gambit," said Professor Xavier, "you have every right to be impatient, and with what you've told me of your life up until now, I'm not surprised that you're so…guarded. I hope in time you'll let us show you that there are still people in this world who can be trusted."

"That'd be you folk, I suppose?" said Gambit skeptically.

Professor Xavier smiled. "We do try," he said.

"Pardon me for not jumping up and down," said Gambit, "but I've heard this line before."

"Which is why we've asked you to stay for a while," said the professor. "Actions, after all, speak louder than words."

Gambit turned over the top card of the deck and looked down. Ace of spades. A good sign.

"All right," he said. "I'm in…for now."

"Excellent," said Professor Xavier, sounding as if he really meant it. "Now, how about the grand tour?"

* * *

The entire class turned as Professor Xavier and his guest entered, glad for the distraction from one of Cyclops' history lectures. Newcomers were always a cause of special interest…and sometimes a sign of impending doom. Whether it was one or both of the above, it was always good to keep tabs on these things.

The stranger's eyes flashed at Rogue, and she realized she had been staring. She forced herself to smile—she wasn't going to go all giggly now—before she turned back to her desk. Then she missed the next ten minutes of the lecture because she was mentally reciting her newly adopted mantra.

_Alone and liking it. Alone and liking it. Alone and__**…**__. Ah, heck._

* * *

Gambit sat alone on a bench a good distance from the school, thinking about the tour. Or rather, thinking about the girl. He had vague memories of shiny metallic surfaces and a lot more advanced technology than your average private school would have access to, but the girl was the only part of the tour that stood out in his mind. He hadn't been able to think of a subtle way to bring her into the conversation ("So, Professor, the knockout in the history class…you wouldn't happen to know her name and relationship status, would you?"), so of course she hadn't come up. Realistically, he supposed that was for the best.

Realistically, no private school had its own jet, either.

He wasn't one for staying long in one place. His past had a way of catching up with him and chasing him off. But he supposed he'd be around long enough to figure out who she was, and to make it past the first wave of attraction he was riding. In the end, she was just another pretty girl, and Gambit had known a lot of pretty girls.

* * *

Of course. Since Rogue's life so rarely went the way she wanted it to go anymore, she should have expected that when she reached her special thinking place she'd find the exact person she was trying not to think about. He hadn't seen her yet; she had been on a walk around the grounds and had approached the bench from behind. She could still just turn around and walk away. It would probably be better all around if she just turned around and walked away. So why wasn't she moving? _Maybe_, she thought, _I'm tired of backing off when things get messy._

"Hey, new boy," she called out. "You're in my spot."

The boy…_the man_, she corrected mentally…turned. For a moment, he stared at her as if she were the last thing he would have ever expected to see. Then he smiled broadly, his dark red eyes sparking again as they had in the classroom.

"A Southern belle, _hein_?" he said, half to himself. "I should've guessed." He patted the bench beside him invitingly. "Why don't you have a seat, _chere_?"

"Why don't you take a hike, new boy?" she said, strolling around to the front of the bench. "Didn't you hear me? You're in my thinking spot."

"Thinking about you, _chere_," he said.

"My name is Rogue, new boy."

"And mine's Gambit, _Rogue_."

"You're not gonna leave, are you?"

Gambit clasped his hands behind his head and stretched his long legs out in front of him. "The weather is fine, the seat is comfortable, the view is lovely, and the company is stimulating. I'm all right."

Rogue was trying to think of a good way to tell him off when she noticed she was sitting next to him. "I'll let it go," she said instead, "just this once."

"That's mighty big of you," he said. "Don't let me interrupt your thinking. I can sit quiet."

Rogue nodded in appreciation and leaned back, closing her eyes. _Alone and liking it._ She had been coming to this spot ever since she came to Xavier's school. She liked to put some distance between the school and herself from time to time, just enough that she could still feel a part of it. From here, she could still see students and teachers milling about outside, and on warmer days their voices floated out to her. From here, she could feel connected without feeling close. From here, she could hear his even breathing, could sense his warmth, could feel….

Her eyes flew open and she saw him staring at her. "I can't think with you looking at me like that," she blurted.

"I get that a lot," he said casually.

She glared at him by way of response.

"Fair enough," he said. "How do you want me to look at you?"

Rogue's temper flared. "Maybe I don't," she snapped.

The apparently imperturbable Gambit shrugged and stood up. "You make the call, _chere_. There are other women at the school, _n'cest pas?_"

"The name is Rogue!" she shouted after his retreating back. She folded her arms tightly and tried to focus on not thinking about Gambit, the worthless uncouth buffoon. She thought very hard about not thinking about Gambit for a long time, then remembered something she sincerely hoped he hadn't heard…that at one potentially critical point in what could laughingly be called their "conversation," she had used the word "maybe."


	3. New Friend

She had said "maybe," Gambit recalled

She had said "maybe," Gambit recalled. As in "maybe" she didn't want him looking at her. It was like the ace of spades coming up all over again; he was going to like it here. He felt a slight twinge of regret about saying there were other women to look at. It had only made her angry, and while that also seemed like a good sign (people who didn't care rarely got mad about it), he would prefer to skip the "hard to get" stage with this one. Her skin was so perfect, so smooth, that he'd had to resist the impulse to reach out and touch it right then and there.

_That_, he thought, remembering her irritated glare, _would not have been a good move._

Patience was the key here. Give her a little time, and he was sure he'd have Rogue running to his arms. He was a thief by trade…some said by nature. He was used to waiting, almost as much as he was used to getting what he wanted. _Just a little time._

* * *

"Check it out," said Jubilee, nodding at the main door to the dining hall. "New boy's here."

"Gambit," said Rogue reflexively.

"Pardon?" said Kitty.

"His name," said Rogue. "It's Gambit."

Kitty leaned over the table conspiratorially. "Who's your source? Bobby? Peter?"

"Remy," said a voice. "Remy LeBeau. Gambit to my friends."

"Remy," said Rogue by way of acknowledgment.

"Mmm," said Gambit appreciatively. "Way you say it, I might drop 'Gambit' altogether."

Jubilee coughed. "Are you going to take a seat, Gambit, or do you flirt better on your feet?"

"I do a lot of things better…."

Rogue slammed her knife and fork down by her plate. "What's your mutant power, Cajun? Making people lose their appetites or just talking them to death?"

"I always thought it was my electric personality," said Gambit. "But I've been wrong before. Once or twice."

Rogue rolled her eyes and pushed her chair back.

"Don't go, _chere_," said Gambit. He reached to grab her arm, but she stepped quickly away.

"Keep your hands to yourself," she said brusquely, and hurried from the room.

She ran out of the dining hall, out of the mansion, back to her spot. She could hit herself for being so stupid. Of course he'd have found out, sooner or later, but if she hadn't reacted so strongly it might have been later. As it was, Kitty was sure to be running her mouth off right now: "Don't take it personally. Rogue can seem a little stand-offish but that's understandable, considering her power and all. Oh, she didn't tell you? Rogue…."

_Is a freak among freaks__**, **_Rogue thought bitterly. _Scares even her own kind. Look, but don't touch._

Rogue had been a teenager in America for a while before she knew she was a mutant, and that was all she needed to experience to know that very few people would be interested in a hands-off romantic relationship. _Heck, neither am I, for what that's worth._ Which was nothing.

She pulled her feet onto the bench and hugged her knees to her chest. She had to collect herself. She had to get used to this. She couldn't live the rest of her life wallowing in self-pity. Rogue put her head on her knees and focused on breathing deeply, on trying to make her mind a blank. It was working.

Until she felt a hand on her shoulder and lost all control of her limbs.

"Whoa!" said Gambit. "Settle down, _chere_!"

Rogue recovered from her spasm, all the relaxing effects of her makeshift meditation session gone. She realized that Gambit was now holding her by the shoulders, and that she had grasped his arms in her shock. She pushed him away roughly. "Settle down?" she gasped. "_You_ snuck up on _me_, fool!"

"Old habits," said Gambit as he sat down. "I'll try to walk louder next time."

_Next time. Kitty must not have__**…**__._ "I'd appreciate that," she said, putting a hand to her heart. "I'd live longer."

They sat in silence for a while as Rogue worked up her nerve. "I have something I have to tell you," she said. "I…."

"Excuse me for interrupting a lady," said Gambit, "but I have something I have to tell you first. And that is that I'm sorry about spoiling your appetite back there."

Rogue was about to accept the apology and be done with it, but she realized that she couldn't. Not in good conscience. "It wasn't you," she said.

His eyes glinted. "I hoped not," he said.

"It's just…I'm still not used to telling people…new people, that is…about what…how they can't…."

Gambit waved a hand dismissively. "Kitty and Jubilee told me all about it," he said.

"Yeah?" she said, irritated. "Must not have told you enough if it wasn't enough to make you stay away from me."

"_Au contraire_," Gambit said. "Enough to make me real curious."

"How it works?" she asked.

"How it feels," he said. "From the other side, I mean."

"Like you're ever gonna find out," she snorted.

"Maybe not," he said. "But don't underestimate Gambit,_ chere_. He's a very patient man. And he knows women, and he notices things about them, and he notices that you…."

"I swear," interrupted Rogue. "You don't ever get tired of the sound of your own voice, do you?"

"From time to time," he said. "But only for a minute or two."

"Take your private conversation elsewhere, will ya?" she asked petulantly. He shrugged and leaned forward, preparing to stand up. "That is, unless you can let a girl get a word in edgewise."

Gambit grinned and settled back onto the bench. "Another thing about Gambit," he said. "When the other person speaking is a beautiful woman, he's a very good listener."

Rogue smiled. This wasn't at all how things had started with Cody or with Bobby. They had both been much more serious. This new boy was a fast talker, but he was all talk. And "all talk" was right up her alley.

It looked like the beginning of a beautiful flirtation.


End file.
